Young Again
by BeccaOfThePen
Summary: Set just after Loki's imprisonment at the start of Thor 2. Thor and Loki are targeted by a cult intending to use them for it's own ends. Clock ticking, they are forced to work together again when they find themselves in an unexpected situation on enemy soil. (No main parings other then canon. Rated for some horror themes, violence, other. No rape. Plot/character heavy long fic).
1. Chapter 1

In a little nook of an antechamber among Asgard's halls, the Fifty Third Ambassador of The Sect of Atarinncerion sat in seeming mediative contemplation. The middle of her forehead was branded with the mark of her commitment and her robes, adorned with the marks of her people and her faith, were elegant in shape yet gaudy in their colour. Beside her, reading a book, was her young assistant, his robes plain but the brand on his forehead was clear to see. The Ambassador's eyes were closed, her focus was on her hearing and the implants which afforded her more auditory prowess then most could ever imagine. It has been a game at first, breaching the mystical defenses of Asgard that was built into the very walls, the very air. It was difficult, just as she had been told, but unexpectedly worthwhile as she listened to the events in the hall.

"We are not Gods, we are born, we live, we die, just as humans do."

"Give or take five thousand years."

That was Odin, and - she almost smiled – Loki. Listening in to the guards and to the convocations in the hall, it seemed that the younger prince had strayed, to the anger of the King. No matter.

"All this, because Loki desires a throne."

"It is my birthright."

"Your birthright was to die, as a child, cast out onto a frozen rock. If I had not taken you in, you would not be here now to hate me."

Oh. Her eyes snapped open and her senses withdrew from the hall. Well, that was unexpected! She then cursed herself silently as the breach in Asgards hidden defenses sealed themselves behind her. Closing her eyes she attempted to refocus and retrace her steps only to pull back again shortly after as many footsteps sounded through her implant. Opening her eyes and standing in a casual stretch, she walked the few paces out of the antechamber in time to see Loki, chained and surrounded by guards, as he was led away.

Such interesting news! So, Loki was not the natural born son of the King and Queen? Was he even Asgardian? She wondered if this would impact on their plans and lamented not knowing of this sooner.

'Well,' she thought to himself as she finally allowed herself to smile. 'at least we know where one of them will be. A shame that that place would be the dungeon; _that_ had not been foreseen, but no matter...' Aloud she said, still smiling, "Hail the Mother who Comes."

Behind her, in the antechamber, her assistant glanced up from his book. "Hail she who will make the universe anew." He responded softly.

###

Evening had come in Asgard and Thor dined alone. After having delivered Loki for Odin's judgement he had been sent to the healing chambers despite his protests and expressed wish to be present when Odin saw Loki. His hand strayed to his side, his mind flashing yet again to the roof of Stark tower. There was not even a scar and yet he could still feel it. It was all in his mind, he knew, and he knew why too: Loki. After Loki dropped him from Shield's carrier he had paused, the warrior at war with the brother within him. In the midst of the Chitauri invasion there was no time to pause, to think. Loki had turned on him.

Now he paused again, emotionally exhausted and torn. His food was unfinished, his clothes were plain and his hair barely groomed after his wash. A year ago it had never really sunk in, when Loki sent the Destroyer after him. What was one incident compared to a thousand years of companionship and brotherhood? Then the grief had come, washing away all but a persistent gnawing thought in the back of his mind: What had happened? What had gone so very wrong? The revelation of Loki's adopted status had been difficult to hear and he supposed it explained some of the issue, but not all, surely. Loki had not been raised a frost giant, after all, but as one of them, as his brother. Didn't that count for something?

A shadow, Loki had said. A shadow of Thor's 'greatness'. Loki's words had been buzzing in the back of his mind since he said them. At first Thor had dismissed it, believing that Loki was not himself, that he was being influenced somehow. But, as time had gone on, he had started to wonder. Till the other year, he had never questioned how things were between himself and his brother - it was what it was. He, Thor, would take command while Loki concerned himself with intricacies. Once, he and some of the others had tried to push Loki to be more bold but all that came of it was some admittedly entertaining pranks at their expense which grew less pleasant as time wore on, so in the end they gave up. Loki was Loki, shadowy and tricky and there would be no changing that.

But since the other year he had wondered... Had he been too careless, too arrogant in his treatment of his brother? On Earth he had compared Asgardians, and himself by extension, to Bilgesnipe. Had he been unwittingly doing the same oblivious stampeding where his brother was concerned? It was a difficult thought to wrap his head around, things had been the way they had been for so long – all his life - and he knew nothing else.

A knock sounded on his door. Not moving or turning his head, Thor called out, "Enter."

A servant stepped into the room. "Sire, the Lady Sif and the Warriors Three requested you join them in the tavern."

Thor nodded, not looking at him and after a moment, the servant left. A beat later and Thor snorted softly to himself. He was almost surprised they hadn't come to get him themselves. Dragging himself from his chair he moved to change into something marginally more serviceable. Yes, he was tired, but for his friends he could spare a couple of hours.

###

The Ambassador watched the servant walk by as her assistant vanished around the corner, heading towards the dungeons. She glanced down at the withered body of the palace guard tucked behind the pillar by her feet, the large brand on his forehead creeping over his temples and towards his cheekbones. He was honored to be the first Asgardian to be sent into the embrace of the new Mother, it was only a pity he would never appreciate that. It was also a pity that the princes could not have that honor, as should have been their right, but Loki's incarceration had not been foreseen and was not part of their original plan. They had needed the information.

She turned her gaze to the direction of Thor's chambers. That part of the palace was forbidden to her, but not to servants baring messages. It was - the small problem of the dungeons aside - all too easy.

###

Somewhat more presentable now, Thor made his way down the corridor. Though his appearance was better, his spirits were not. He was taking some consolation that at least now they were sure that Loki was not dead. At the moment, he refused to acknowledge the small part of his mind that wondered if that was such a good thing given how Loki had been in Midgard.

Stepping into the early night air beyond the palace, he let the hustle and bustle, the normalcy of Asgard, sooth him. As it was now, as it had been for a millennium, this was home.

"Oof!"

Thor stepped back as a small robed woman bumped into him, almost knocked to the floor by the impact. "I am sorry! Forgive me, I was not watching where I was going. My mind was elsewhere." He placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her as she regained her bearings and took in the details of her robes. "My sincerest apologies, Ambassador."

She smiled up at him, "Oh, it is no worry, sire." Then taking his hand in hers in a firm grip she said, "May the Mark of the Mother guide you to her."

Thor hissed and yanked his hand from her grasp, his skin burning where she had touched him. "What did you just do?!" He snarled, the burning becoming an itch that was spreading up his arm at an alarming speed. "What did you do?!"

She just smiled sweetly, silent, still and unflinching as Thor called Mjölnir and shouted for the guards. Even as she was restrained, the guard avoiding her skin at all costs at Thor's instruction, her face held onto that small smile. When Thor questioned her again she just replied to him "I will tell all to the King and only to him." And smiled wider.

###

The sun was shining high in the sky as the young boys sparred with training swords in the private gardens. Odin leaned against a great oak a few strides away while Frigga stood at the edge of the circle.

"You are over reaching, Loki. Mind your balance." She instructed as Loki stumbled when Thor parried his blow. Thor, seeing an opening and eager to impress, swung his sword around and smacked Loki square in his back, sending the slighter boy to the ground.

"Ow!"

Over by the tree, Odin snorted in slight amusement as Thor grinned triumphantly, holding his sword high in victory, "I win! Father, did you see?"

"Of course. Your form is still sloppy however, mind your off hand when you swing."

Thor nodded as Frigga crouched next to where Loki was still sat on the ground. "You are faster then him, you know."

Loki nodded and huffed slightly. She had told him this before and he still wound up in the dirt.

Frigga sighed and glanced up to where Thor had run up to Odin.

"Father! Show me what you did when you fought the frost giants on the ice mountain again? When you dueled with the huge one?"

Lowering her head to closer to Loki's ear so as not to be over heard, she said "Remember our last lesson?"

Loki perked up instantly. "Yes… but I haven't mastered that yet."

"It doesn't matter." She smiled. "He wont expect it."

"It's… it's against the rules, isn't it?"

She winked at him. "Do you think that has ever stopped me? When the real fighting happens, who survives? The person who fights by the rules, or the person who does whatever they can to win?"

Loki's eyes snapped open, a plain white ceiling above him, the light permeating everything, allowing nothing to be hidden. It took him a moment to get his bearings, then he remembered; He was in the dungeon.

It was that memory again. A memory that, like an abandoned dog, his mind kept straying back to. It was a happy memory at first glance but it held so many things which, over the course of his life, would wear on him, most especially of late.

He sat up from where he was laying on the ground, the bare box of his cage holding no interest what so ever, which of course was part of the punishment. A thought occurred to him; Why had the dream stopped? Usually it carried on further.

He stood up, eyes narrowed and walked to the force field at the edge of his cell. Two guards walked past on their regular patrol, the few prisoners in the cells opposite his own were asleep but something was not right. Something in the air…

Asgard had many hidden, subtle defenses that few knew about. It's sorcerers knew many, the King knew them all and he had once been King…

"I know you are there." He said lowly to the space in front of his cell. There, a sound… bare feet on stone. "Show yourself."

"Not yet…" A soft male voice answered.

"What do you want?" Loki spoke quietly, curious and conscious of the patrolling guards.

Footsteps approached and two more guards rounded the corner. As they passed by Loki's cell suddenly they both dropped to the ground like puppets with their strings cut. Their eyes were still open, their skin pale and they had no sign of breath. They looked dead.

"How did you do that?" Loki asked in a tone of curiosity.

He stepped back, almost startled, as a hand-print appeared crackling on the field at the edge of his cell. It pressed inwards slightly, the field stretching and hissing in protest. A second hand-print appeared next to it.

"You will be coming with me. You have been given a new purpose, Loki, son of Odin." The hands reached forwards into the cell as a face pressed itself into the field above them. "For the mother who will transform the universe, you have been chosen."

Loki's eyes narrowed.


	2. Chapter 2

Kneeling before the throne, The Ambassador was chained, much as Loki had been. Already she had been examined, under guard, by Asgard's various experts – as had Thor – in an effort to determine what she had done to him. She had refused to speak the entire time. Even when Odin had arrived she had insisted that she receive proper presentation, as was her right as an ambassador.

Now, she glanced up at the King, that small smile back in place. "I am the Fifty Third Ambassador of The Sect of Atarinncerion-"

"We know very well who you are! What have you done to Thor and where is Loki?"

The corner of her mouth twitched, "Loki is our guest, for the time being, as he awaits his union with the Mother. And Thor…" She shifted he gaze to him. He was already looking a little pale and unless her eyes were fooling her, a dark smudge had appeared in the middle of his forehead. "Thor will join him soon enough."

"Join him?" Odin's voice was tense, furious, "You mean like them?"

Odin motioned to someone behind her and she heard footsteps and the sound of something being dragged. A body was brought into her line of sight, a withered old husk, branded with the mark of the Mother as she expected, but it was not the one she had claimed in Her name, so this one must have been the work of her assistant.

"Six more were found like this, most of them either in the dungeons or outside them. Everyone of them, marked and unnaturally aged. Explain this!" Odin's voice barked above her.

She shrugged, "It is the mark of the mother, she who brings new life-"

"_That_, does not look like life to me." Thor interrupted, in a younger approximation of his fathers growl.

"From the Mother springs forth new life when the old has been cleared in preparation."

Odin cut in "Enough. If you will not speak plainly, I will. You are part of a rebirth cult, are you not? That _thing_, you infected my son and my men with is a soul siphon, sucking the life force out of them. I thought the beliefs of Atarinncerion Sect were focused on the coming of a Mother Saviour, a prophet of some kind. What changed?"

She was impressed and simply said, "We got tired of waiting."

"You realize this is an act of war?"

She shrugged again, "The priests indicated that they had been chosen. I was simply fulfilling my duty in seeing the divine mandate fulfilled."

"Where is Loki?"

"He has been taken to wait with the rest who have been chosen."

"Why him? Why not Thor or both of them?"

"Truthfully, we did not fancy Thor summoning that infamous hammer of his and ruining our city before his union."

"I don't think you know Loki very well…" Thor said lowly from the side.

Odin ignored him. "The Sect of Atarinncerion only has one city it claims as its own. You realize what you are saying?"

"What can you do? Your Bifrost is, last I looked, destroyed."

Thor cut in again, "Wait, if Loki is in your city, how did you get him there? How did you get him out of Asgard?"

When Odin paused to let her answer, she addressed Thor, "Well, I suppose technically he will still be in transit at this time. It's all really very simple. We have space ships." She paused a beat enjoying his irritation, "Tiny, tiny ships, with stealth capacity."

"And the knowledge to override Asgard's defense measures. This is why you have waited so long to act _Fifty Third_ Ambassador," Odin growled, "Your people have been using the time to map our defenses and plan this."

"And with the Bifrost down, when better but now?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"One last thing,_ Ambassador_… how do we break this curse on Thor, and Loki, assuming he is infected too?"

"Oh, you haven't figured that out? You can't. Only the Mother may release those that she claims."

"But she did not do this to Thor! You did! How?"

"The blessing is tied to my soul and through it, my body. A simple touch is all I need to transmit it to another."

"If it can be done then surely it can be undone."

"It can not, or at least, you have not found a way yet or you would not be asking me this."

Odin sneered, "Take her away, I have heard enough. She is to be executed at first light. If she talks, I want to know about it."

"Wait!" Thor cut in, "Why am I still alive? The guards died at their posts almost instantly, they didn't even cry out."

"You are a prince. It is your right to savor the blessing, to afford your soul a cleaner transition from this life to the next."

"You were able to control the severity of the curse. Then Loki will still be alive too?" Thor nodded, glaring at her.

"He will live as long as you do." She said simply. At the announcement of her impending execution her blood had begun to quicken and now her forehead was starting to itch.

"Take her away," Odin repeated to the guards.

They tugged on her chains, her forehead starting to burn as she sighed, her heart pounding and her skin tingling. Distracted, when a guard tugged on her chains she stumbled.

"Wait." It was Odin, this time. "Face me again."

She did as bid, seeing no other choice and feeling as though it would not matter anyway.

Odin's eye widened slightly as he watched her forehead, "Your mark, is growing…"

"She's aging." Thor added.

She smiled, though it was uncomfortable now. Her muscles were starting to hurt and her very bones were starting to ache. "I will go to the Mother, such is my blessing as her servant. I have nothing more to say." She looked up at Thor, "I will see you with her, when your time comes."

She knew what they were seeing, she had seen it in others before; Her hair was graying, her skin growing thin and wrinkling, her muscles wasting and if one were paying attention they would see her grow slightly shorter too. So caught up in the myriad of unexpectedly painful sensations she did not see the vicious look on Odin's face, but she heard the angry electric hiss-crackle clear enough. She refocused on Odin, startled. Her eyes were starting to mist but there was no mistaking the glowing tip of Gungnir, Odin's spear, pointed right at her.

"No-!"

###

Marching briskly down the corridors half a step behind Odin, Thor said in a tense voice, "You realize this is going to be a trap."

"Of course it's a trap! But a devious one, I'll admit. If we act we wind up walking into whatever it is they have waiting for us at a time when we can not make use of most of our forces in an efficient way _and_ we have very little time to prepare. If we don't act, then Asgard loses it's heirs, loses face and our position in the realms is greatly weakened, while theirs is strengthened."

"So we gamble with what we have and face their trap head on."

"We may not have a choice. If your mother and the healers have any success with this curse we may be able to buy ourselves some time. Fortunately, we also have the Tesseract back and so may be able to muster more force then they were counting on."

"Let us hope…"

The guards opened the doors ahead of them and the two entered a cavernous chamber where Frigga manipulated a large fractal expanse of swirling energy. Stood around the chamber, other women manipulated smaller expanses of light in an array of colours. Stone platforms floated around the room beneath it all, many occupied by the aged corpses of the guards. By the smell of them, even though it has been less then four hours, they were already starting to rot, too.

"How goes it?" Odin called to Frigga, carefully avoiding her work.

She paused a beat, frowning in concentration, her mouth set into a grim line. "Not well. Thor, lie down over there." She nodded to one of the vacant platforms which drifted closer.

Doing as told, Thor asked "Has there been no development at all? No clue? Nothing?"

Frigga marched over to him as the wiry apparatus of a soul forge descended from the ceiling. She activated it and the image of Thor's body floated up. The entire thing was full of a uniform pale gray mist, from head to toe.

Addressing Thor as she worked, she said "No… the siphon is rooted in to the very life force of your body, in every single cell. Replicating it is very easy, but once it is rooted it becomes almost inseparable from the life force it is attached to."

"Almost? So you have had some success."

She glanced at him with a flicker of worry that filled Thor's stomach with dread. His mother did not give out looks like that, not her. "As we understand it, at this point, separating it from you would be like trying to split your body in half, length ways. It could be done, but you would not survive…" She blinked and focused her attention back to the soul forge, a flash of light transferring from it to the swirling mass in the center of the room.

Closer to the door, Odin stood studying it. "If I am reading this right, the siphon has an anchor, a single point that the life force is transferred to as it is drained from its victim."

"We know." Frigga answered, deactivating the soul forge and walking over to him. "Do you notice how obvious it is? They could have attempted to hide it amounts all this, but they didn't. If were any more obvious, they would have highlighted it."

"Hm. Can we track this?"

"We already are." Frigga replied, glancing over to three of the women working on almost identical energy patterns. "At this pace we should have the exact coordinates in an hour."

"What's the betting it will lead us right to their city?" Thor said from where he was still lying on the platform, unsure whether he was permitted to get up or not, though he was propped up on his elbow as he observed the shifting light display in front of him. He understood some of it, though he was hardly an expert. Had Loki been here, he would have as immersed in it as Frigga was...

Odin snorted, "At this point I would not dignify that with any kind of bet, this seems far too obvious. Although, until we know for sure, we make no assumptions. They have had far too long to plan this."

"Yes..." Thor nodded, then looked to Frigga. She was studying and manipulating the main display again, leaving him on a dais with an inactive soul forge. "Er, mother…?"

"Yes, yes…" She waved a hand at him, not shifting her gaze at all, and he tentatively took that as permission to get up. As he walked up to her she said, "Thor, go to your chambers, rest, sleep if you can, we will inform you of any action we take."

"Wait, any action _you_ take? Am I not to be involved in this? I am sick at worst, not dead!"

"Thor, you will do as your mother says, we don't have much time and your condition will worsen rapidly as things progress. We can't risk you in battle."

"And what if the only way to cure this is for me to go to this anchor myself?" The thought of being stuck at home in bed was utterly repulsive to him, although no force in the universe would make him admit just how much of that was down to pure pride. "If there is no cure for this, I want to die on my feet not stuck in bed as an invalid!" When neither Odin not Frigga responded immediately he asked in a smaller voice, "How long do I have?"

Odin said in a measured tone - and Thor refused to think that there may be anything else there - "We can not be certain exactly, but if your condition advances at a continuous rate, you may have as little as two and a half days." He glanced at Frigga who nodded and added in an equally measured tone,

"Perhaps less... In as little as a day and a half you may not be up to walking much, let alone fighting." She took a deep breath and Thor struggled to meet her eyes, "Now, go to your chambers. Touch no one. So far your condition has not been contagious but we have no way of knowing if that will change."

"Go." Odin said, "You will be kept informed."

Thor, a little stunned and feeling somewhat ill, nodded and turned on his heel, not really seeing where he was going as he left. Behind him, Odin and Frigga shared a long look, their hands meeting between them for a brief touch, before she turned back to her work and Odin left for his own preparations.

###

Sat on his bed, Thor was in turmoil. If he only had just over two days – one that he may still be fighting fit – he wanted to be active, not caught here, trying to save his energy in the hopes of buying an extra hour of time, or whatever it would amount to. It was his parents that made him pause. He had been sick before, his life had been in danger from poisons and magic before, but he had never seen his mother quite like this.

He got up and started to pace, when his reflection caught his eye. Pale grey marks were appearing in the middle of his forehead, like lines. He sneered; it was starting to resemble the marks the ambassador and her assistant had on their heads.

He slumped back down onto his bed, head in his hands. A few beats later and he was back up and pacing again. Glancing at his door, back towards the corridor, he knew he could not go out like this. He was a warrior, and a warrior he would be until his final breath.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, with everything we've been through, everything we have done, I think that the thing that surprises me most, is that I am still surprised we are not dead."

"Well, if you doubt your own skill in battle so much, maybe you should stay at home."

"Oh it is not that I am worried about being slain, Lady Sif, it is the fact we have not yet been executed following one of our little… excursions."

"Perhaps if you keep wishing hard enough, this time Odin will finally grow tired of us."

"… let not, shall we?" Fandral glanced around as the two walked down the corridor, as though mentioning his name would bring Odin swooping down upon them. "I hate to say this, because I do sympathize with Thor completely – I would not want to be stuck in bed in his situation – but the Queen does have a point in keeping him from the front line, and you know that is _exactly_ where Thor will try to be. As much as it pains me, he is only going to keep getting weaker until this is fixed."

"Even at half strength, Thor is a match for the average Einherjar and they will be on the front lines."

"You and I both know it will get worse then that."

"Are you going to help Thor or not?"

"I am here, aren't I? I'm just… well I'll say it; I am worried."

"So am I. But, I agree with Thor; he has a right to see this through, he is the wronged party here."

"That and he would likely tear half the palace down if he were forced to stay home and play damsel in distress, while others fought on his behalf."

"That too." She glanced at him, "Wouldn't we all?"

"Aye."

###

Propped up on his bed, Thor distracted himself, throwing a desk ornament up into the air, catching it and throwing it again. It had been over an hour and a half since he had left his parents, twenty minutes since a guard arrived at his door to inform him that the soul siphon had indeed been tracked to the Atarinncerion city, Atarinca - right to the heart of it, too.

The guard had also informed him that Asgard's armies were being readied to attack Atarinca, via the Tesseract which was being set up to create a stable portal between Asgard and the city. The Asgardian end of the portal was being set up away from populated areas and it was to be fitted with a quick shut down mechanism. The entire operation was set to begin in just over an hour, so he was running out of time.

Unfortunately, prior to that and shortly after his arrival in his chambers, the guards had turned up outside his door and stayed there; Odin had placed him under unofficial house arrest. He could always fly out of the window, he still had Mjölnir, but if he wanted to pull this off he needed to be subtle, so for now, he had to wait on his friends.

He glanced to the balcony – still, if all else failed, flying out the window and towards the portal as fast as he could and just hoping, could always serve as plan B. If only the guard had told him exactly where Odin planned to set the portal…

He flicked the ornament up into the air again, higher this time, his ears trained on the door and anything that may be happening outside it. He hoped they would make it in time.

###

Handing over the gold, Hogun pocketed the handful of small bottles with a nod to the shop keep, careful to stash them securely. He broke into a jog once he got back into the street, heading back to the palace.

###

Volstagg huffed as he watched the solders prepare. Walking into the armoury would be no problem but walking out again carrying a set of Thor sized Einherjar armour was not going to happen. Everyone knew him and everyone knew Thor too well.

"Oh well… Nothing else to be done I suppose…"

###

"I am the Lady Sif! Shield maiden and friend to Thor and you mean to tell me that I am not to permitted to fight on behalf of my friend?! You dishonour me!"

The guard visibly cringed and Fandral almost cringed with him. The guard was a large, boorish looking man but Fandral knew from many a round of drinking that he was actually quite a bright and sensitive soul, more suited to sonnets then to battle and Fandral quite liked him. Fandral also knew that the hapless man held quite the torch for Lady Sif – which was why he had zeroed in on him in particular and told Sif that she would have more luck in interrogating him. He really felt sorry for the other man; His love was a hopeless endeavour as he was too gentle for Sif, and Fandral honestly thought he would just bore her. Still, if this paid off, Fandral would be buying the poor sap drinks for the next decade at least, even if the other man never knew why.

"F-forgive me, m-my lady, I-I mean no offence…"

Sif narrowed her eyes, a wolf closing in on a wounded rabbit, and a little way away, Fandral shook his head and sighed. Make that two decades…

###

As close to Thor's chambers as he dared, tucked out of sight, Hogun crouched down on the floor and pulled out the bottles and two small dishes. Lining the bottles up in order, he started gulping air. Readying his hands on the first bottle, with a final deep breath, which he held, he opened it and poured the first drops into one of the bowls.

Of the four of them, only he and Volstagg could remember the recipe, and Volstagg had never been able to hold his breath - and his focus, by the end – long enough to finish it.

###

The guards always patrolled in groups of at least two, and while Volstagg understood and appreciated the security and practicality there, not for the first time he was wishing one of them would just break protocol and wonder off on his own. Was it really so much to ask that one of them would grow a sense of adventure and just go elsewhere? Well, he supposed in that case, such a man would not last as a guard, much like himself really.

Never mind…

He had been following these two for a minute, there was no one else around given everyone was getting ready for the attack on Atarinca and this was about as close to Thor's chambers as he thought they would get. He just hopped that Hogan was ready.

Walking up briskly behind them he called to them loudly, "Oh, Excuse me!" And as they turned, he punched both of them squarely in the face.

###

Fandral and Sif were tucked around the corner from Thor's chambers, Sif peering at the guards outside Thor's room while Fandral kept an eye open for any oncoming patrols. Their mission had been a success, now everything rested on Hogan and Volstagg.

"I wonder what might be happening with Loki…" Fandral whispered over to her.

"Truthfully, I am trying _not_ to think about Loki."

"I just can't picture him sitting calmly in an enemy's cell, not if he has any inkling as to what all this is about." After a pause when she didn't answer him, he continued, "I mean, I know things with Loki have gotten bad recently, _possibly_ beyond the point of no return –"

"_Possibly_?" She repeated with an incredulous tone.

"But I just don't see this cult as being his type, you know?" He continued as though she had never spoken, "I can't see him getting along with them at all, which makes me wonder what he might be up to. Weather he has escaped them yet, or done something… You know… Loki-ish."

Sif just snorted.

"Oh come on. I would far rather think about what mischief Loki may be up to at their expense then… then much else right now. An advanced strike, so to speak."

"You have always been too fond of him."

"And some might say you have always been too critical." He wasn't bothering to look at for guards by this point, just watching her instead.

She glanced back at him, "Are you defending that traitor?"

"Just reminiscing, that's all. Thor has been doing a lot of that, too."

Looking back to the guards outside of Thor's chamber, she whispered back to him, lowly "Well, I was proven right." Fandral was about to say something back to her when Sif held up her hand, "There!"

A small orb rolled towards the guards from the opposite direction. As soon as the guards saw it they, readied their weapons and backed off. Sif smiled.

With a pop the orb split open, splashing a clear liquid in a small radius. The guards startled back, slowed, then stopped moving.

"Got them." Sif said with a victorious smile.

"Time to play dolls."

The two walked up to Thor chamber's, holding their breath when they got close. Hogan approached them from the other side, looking a little flushed and bleary eyed. Sif and Fandral exchanged a look, then Fandral took Hogan by the arm and led him into Thor's room's, pausing to grab the orb by the door, wrapping it in a scrap of leather. The guards did not move.

Sif, still holding her breath, began to move the guards back into formation. They were compliant but ungraceful, their eyes half open, unfocused and flickering slightly.

Inside, Thor stood back as Fandral began to lead Hogan to the wash rooms. On his way past, Fandral paused as he caught sight of Thor.

"I can't be that bad already." Thor huffed, uncomfortable. "Well, come on. I don't want my rooms contaminated by the Vapours."

"Um, yes, sorry, right." Fandral continued to the washroom with Hogan, who was trying to shake himself into greater alertness. As soon as he got there, Fandral plunged the orb, still wrapped in leather, into a waiting bowl of water and left it there, then he helped Hogan wash his hands and face in a second bowl of water. Fandral was distracted however, beginning to question the wisdom in this. Thor had aged. Already, he looked older.

Outside, Sif had finished arranging the guards, having had to step away once for a second breath of air. She looked around for Volstagg, but, not seeing him and not wanting to further risk being seen, she opened the door to Thor's chambers and stepped inside. She didn't release the breath she was holding until the door was closed behind her and she was a few paces away from it. She stopped as she saw Thor, who squirmed.

"Sif… I feel fine!"

She mentally shook herself, "I don't doubt it." She said it more for his benefit. They all knew this was going to get worse.

She moved closer to him and didn't bother to hide her appraisal of him, knowing he would see anyway. The mark on his forehead was a pale grey mimicry of the brand the Atarinncerion ambassador always wore, the hair at his temples was starting to turn white and the lines on his face were more distinct and numerous. She didn't look long - it hurt to see.

Turning back to the door, she said, in a statement of the obvious, "No sign of Volstagg yet, then."

"No,"

"Hogan must have rushed the Sleep Walker's Vapors, he hasn't suffered from them like this since his second attempt back on Vanaheim."

"Yes, but I appreciate his haste."

They were silent then, listening to Fandral and Hogan in the wash room.

_"Goodness… did you forget to hold your breath at one point? Pass me the bottles."_

_"Had I… had I breathed, I might be dead."_

_"… right… I forgot about that part. Which two do we need for the antidote again?"_

_"…Give them back, I'll do it. And it is not an antidote, it just… it supresses the symptoms."_

_"Well that's good enough, isn't it?"_

Thor snorted, then sighed. Fandral was fretting and taking it out on Hogan, who wasn't that badly off. He shared a look with Sif who rolled her eyes and smirked.

At that moment, the doors to Thor's chambers were kicked inward and Volstagg, his breath held and with a guard slung over each shoulder, burst into the room. Sif, holding her breath, rushed to close the doors behind him, while Volstagg dropped the guards onto Thor's bed.

"Volstagg!" Thor exclaimed, "When I asked for armour, I did not mean for them to already be filled!"

"Have you ever been to the armoury before a battle? The place is swarming and I do not exactly blend into the crowd. This is the best I could do on such short notice."

"Right, yes, of course. This will do… help me strip that one."

"I suppose," Sif said coming up behind them, "That it would be less conspicuous if you had company heading towards the rest of the army."

"That would be me, then." Fandral said from where he and a slightly damp and worse for wear looking Hogan stood at the entrance to the wash room. "I'd say that fella is about my size." He pointed towards the slightly smaller of the two guards.

Thor glanced to Fandral and then the other guard, then nodded. "Get to it."

###

In the heart of the sprawling metropolis of Atarinca, high in one of the skyscrapers, raised voices could be heard by one of the windows. There was a brief scuffle when suddenly a body crashed through the glass. Tumbling, screaming, the hapless soul disappeared into the mist bellow.

In the shattered window, a tall lean man stood, robed in grey, his long black hair starting to silver at the temples, a pale grey mark etched onto his forehead. Loki watched the other man fall before looking out over the city, taking in the huge expanse of it.

Another robed and marked man walked up behind him. His skin was tinted green and feathers adorned his head instead of hair. "You shouldn't have done that. To kill another claimed by the Mother is a crime."

"I wasn't aiming for the window, and even if I were, I did not expect it to break like that."

The other man shook his head. "Then control your temper."

Loki just nodded, still scanning the city.

The other stepped up next to him. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"It is. Huge." The city was quiet, very quiet for something so large – though they were very high up. "They will be here soon."

The feathered man just nodded and smiled.

###

###

###

_Author's Note: I would very much appreciate reviews for this, it has been years since I wrote fiction like this, longer since I published anything._


	4. Chapter 4

Armed and armoured, Thor strode down the corridor away from his chambers, Mjölnir strapped to his back below his cloak.

Identically attired, Fandral marched beside him. "Handy little concoction, that." He said waving his hand behind them.

"Here we go again…" Thor muttered to himself with a smirk.

"Where did Loki first find the recipe for it?"

Louder Thor replied, "You tried to seduce an alchemist who didn't appreciate your advances. She drugged you with the vapours, which is why you can never remember this no matter how many times we tell you. Loki noticed and later befriended and seduced her himself, learning that recipe and a few others from her. Turned out she has a thing for dark haired sorcerers, not blond haired warriors."

"… Oh. Wait… You're saying I have asked you this before?"

"Yes. And before you ask, every time you are told, you forget. It is the memory suppressant side effect of the Vapours."

"I know it suppresses the memory of the event and any attempts to recall it, but I didn't know I was under it's influence."

"Because you forget."

"Easy to see why it is a banned substance with most institutions that know of it."

"Look on the bright side; give it another century and you should be able to start remembering our retellings of what happened. Another few decades or so after that and your own memories may start to resurface."

"Thank goodness for Asgardian life expectancy…"

The two were headed towards a meet point Sif had learned from the guard. Fortunately, from what they were told, they had been ready with a few minutes to spare. They fell silent as soon as they saw someone else, not wanting to give themselves away with their voices. From then on, it was a silent march to the rendezvous.

###

Sif, Hogan and Volstagg waited in Thor's chambers. Both guards were bound on the bed. One of them had woken and was currently glaring at Volstagg.

"Oh don't look at me like that, friend. It was nothing personal, truly!"

Sif stood by the window, leaning against a pillar, looking out over Asgard, brilliant in its night time glory. "It's a shame we wont be there to fight."

"Asgard needs strong warriors to remain behind, if our forces fall to whatever trap may be waiting. We weren't the only ones kept back." Hogan replied to her.

"I know." Sif sighed and started pacing.

"Look," Volstagg said to the guard, "How's about a peace offering?" He said getting up and marching over to a large vase. "I happen to know that for special occasions, Thor keeps," he stuck his arm inside the vase, rummaging around various items in there that went 'clink' as they moved, "Um, I thought… Ah! Here it is!" He pulled out a fair sized snow white bottle. "Dralgaski Ice wine!"

The second guard who has been starting to stir got elbowed into full wakefulness by his companion.

"Volstagg!" Sif chided with a badly repressed grin.

"Oh, Thor may not like that." Hogan said with the smallest of smirks.

"Nonsense! These fine gentlemen have, unwilling or not, helped Thor. I am sure a little recompense will go down just fine!"

"That's his favourite. You know how hard it is to come by." Sif said, though clearly amused.

"Well they are hardly going to be having much now are they? Even Thor can't drink much of this. Besides, the bottle is almost full."

Volstagg set the wine on a table while he fished around in a cabinet for some small glasses.

The guard Volstagg had first addressed spoke up, "That's very, very generous but I do not feel comfortable taking from the Prince's personal store. Particularly something like this!" He barely took his eyes off the bottle.

"Ahh, if he asks, it will be on me." Volstagg set five pearlescent shot glasses on the table and began to pour a small measure into each of them.

Sif walked over and sat on the bed across from the two guards and quickly unbound their hands. "I hope you are right about this." She said to Volstagg with a small smile as she finished.

"Yes, yes. Don't worry, it will be fine. He won't mind." Volstagg handed her a glass, then gave the next one to Hogan, who accepted it with a nod. Next, he went to hand one to the first guard who had awakened. When the guard hesitated he said, "They have already been poured now. If you don't have it, one of us will." The guard accepted it then, with thanks and an almost insuppressible smile. His companion didn't bother to hide his eagerness, which earned him a dirty look from his fellow.

Everyone paused to sniff their drinks and Sif commented with a giddy grin, "It has been years, at least, since I have drank this."

"A toast. To Thor." Hogan said, glancing up from his drink to everyone else in the room.

Sif's smile became sad. "It's only fitting…" She paused and nodded, "To Thor. May his quest be successful and may he return home, alive and safe."

Everyone nodded and in unison spoke out, "To Thor!"

###

The trip to the rendezvous point had been successful and through a knowledge of Asgard's armies and a little underhand manipulation, the Thor and Fandral had managed to worm their way into the vanguard.

The portal, as it turned out, was set on an extremely hastily made platform over water, away from the city – Odin must have ordered its construction as soon as he first got the idea that the situation might need off world militant action. Thor could feel the bridge shift under them in the wind. The portal itself was focused within a great arch, easily wide enough to get thirty men through at once.

Thor and Fandral, stood amongst the first unit who would enter the city, were only two dozen paces from the portal. However this meant that both of them were now in the awkward position of trying to hide behind the solders in front of them, as at the head of the army stood Odin himself, astride his enormous eight legged steed, Sleipnir.

"Warriors of Asgard!" Odin's voice boomed out, enhanced to reach every assembled person. "Earlier this evening, as many of you will already know, the Atarinncerion Sect launched an attack against us, targeting both Princes and a number of our citizens. This insult, this declaration of war, can not go unanswered. Yet, more then this, in the attack, Prince Loki was taken hostage and Prince Thor was afflicted with a curse which, as far as we have been able to determine, can only be cured within the heart of the Atarinncerion city itself, Atarinca. Our sources indicate that Loki may also be held in that City."

Odin paused for a moment to let this information sink in. Thor, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, noticed the solder to the side of him cast him a side long knowing look, a gleam of recognition in his eye. Thor, glanced back at him, as neutrally as possible, but the solder just gave the barest of nods before focusing his gaze back to Odin. Thor sighed in relief and gratitude.

In front of them, Odin continued. "Our sorcerers have tracked the curse to the heart of Atarinca and that is where this portal will open. Heimdall has informed us that he can see no militant operations in that area, in fact he reports that the space, and indeed much of the city itself, is partly deserted. Our advance scouts have confirmed this, finding only unarmed civilians, not solders.

Our goal is to capture Atarinca, eliminate any resistance and to track the source of their curse. We are not naive, we know that they have been planning this for some time and we cannot know precisely what will be in wait for us. There is risk, though with luck they will not be expecting this much force so soon and will be too reluctant to damage their own people and their city to do much against us. While there, let no one, soldier, civilian or child, touch your skin, or you may find yourself cursed too. If the worst should happen, and our forces overwhelmed, be aware that the portal will be shut down, for the safety of Asgard. Anyone stranded on the other side should try to make their way out of the city and into the wilderness beyond, where you will be traced and brought home."

Odin paused again and Thor shifted slightly in his armour. He was not accustomed to this set and would be glad to shed it in favour of his own, which he planned to do so as soon as the fighting started. He could feel the suppression magics, that kept his accustomed armour stored in their sub-dimensional space, tingle at the back of his mind. This was not something he liked doing, not like Loki, who's mastery of sub-dimensional and extra-dimensional spaces was mind boggling, as suited someone of his talents. This was not Thor's forte and while he enjoyed the practicality, frankly he preferred to keep things relatively simple.

"Let it be clear, that we have no choice, the stakes are high and for the good of Asgard, for the good of the Realms, we _will_ win!" Odin continued, voice booming. "They have had decades or perhaps centuries to plan this, this is true, but Asgard had fought and won wars with its foes long before the Atarinncerion sect was first conceived. This child cult will not stand before the might of our forces. Our power, our skill, our experience_ will_ overwhelm them, and their city, their cult, will fall!"

A cheer went up from the assembled forces.

"No one has bested us. No force in the universe has ever conquered us and today is not the day that will change!"

The roar from the army grew louder.

"Now, we fight! Fight for your honour! Fight for your people! Fight, for Asgard!"

The thunderous roar of thousands of voices drowned out sound of the portal starting up but it's light exploded out across the bridge, brilliantly illuminating the assembled forces in cold blue.

With Odin at the lead, the forces of Asgard advanced.

###

High in one of the skyscrapers of Atarinca, looking towards the smaller buildings within the city, Loki observed the comings and goings of the aerial traffic. Suddenly, a brilliant flash in the heart of the city caught his eye – he knew that particular blue flare.

Without a word, he turned on his heel, heading towards the door.

###

In the central plaza, next to the statue of the Mother, Asgard's forces poured into the city. The buildings fanning out around them grew in size the further out they went. With the city ringed in towers, it gave the impression of a huge, spike rimmed crater.

Civilians in the plaza – their foreheads branded as Thor had expected – cowered and backed into walls, but did not run. All observed the invaders with fear, curiosity and an air acceptance. Thor had never seen anything quite like it before and it made him uneasy.

Everything was dull, drab, worn. The buildings, the civilian's clothes… Even the sky was grey and cloudy.

Thor and Fandral set themselves into a sentry position as other members of their unit set up miniature shield generators around the portal.

"Where is everyone?!" Fandral hissed beside him, "They must have been expecting us, surely!"

"I do not know, but I do not like it."

Cowering civilians observed them from the edges of the plaza and Thor felt his hackles rise; this wasn't right.

Somewhere off to the side Odin called out, "Move those people away! Kill them if they refuse to cooperate!"

Thor set his teeth and moved to obey, the good solder, when one of the windows in a nearby building caught his eye. He could see someone in the window watching them. Looking around, every building seemed to have someone within, watching.

"You seeing this?" He said to Fandral, unnerved.

"Yes. Anyone would think some kind of strange alien circus had showed up, not an invading army!"

More Asgardian troops were pouring into the city by the second, many spreading out past the plaza into the streets and buildings. The plaza itself was now surrounded by a bubble of golden energy and four women in the armour of battle mages stood close to the portal, weaving energy between them, trying to pinpoint the curse. Another two sorcerers were examining the statue, while three more examined the cobbles.

Troops were filing into nearby buildings, drawing civilians away from the windows, but looking around at the great bowl of the city surrounding them, Thor knew there was nothing to be done, not until the entire city had been taken.

Thor and Fandral were remaining guard on the plaza, on the far side to Odin, as this was the place the sorcerers had traced the curse to, but all there was to be seen was dull patterned cobble and a statue. And, from what little Thor could see, it seemed the mages were not having much luck determining whether there was any more to it then that.

Around the plaza soldiers were reporting no combatants, non in any direction, only the eerie staring civilians.

Odin, frowning, called back to the portal, "Hold!" And the flow of troops stopped. Scanning the encircling buildings and the peering eyes within them, he said, frowning, "Pull our troops back to the city centre, keep our forces here."

"My king!" One of the mages called over to him, "It is an antenna, the stature is just an antenna! That's why we traced it to this point!"

Suddenly, in the ring of towers at the edge of the city, small flashes of light could be seen and Thor's eyes widened as bolts of red energy hurtled towards them. Too late to retreat to the portal, in the moments before the energy hit, Thor, in some self sacrificing reflex, grabbed Fandral and pulled him to the ground, shielding him with his body, his hand on the other man's neck as he forced his head down, knocking his helmet from him.

Asgard's forces were engulfed, the red energy going straight through their shield as though it never existed.

Even with his eyes screwed shut, Thor's vision was overwhelmed with red. The sound of the strike was like that of a fire tornado, but he could still hear the sudden screams and the sudden silence.

When the energy dissipated, dizzy, blinking his vision clear, Thor snapped his head up to behold the might of Asgard's armies, their foreheads branded, silently screaming, aging, dying before his eyes.

Horrified, frightened, he instinctively turned towards where he last knew Odin to be, to see the remnants of a shield shimmer away from Odin and the portal, generated by Gungnir which Odin held aloft. Distantly, Thor noted that two of the tracker mages and the one who had called out earlier from the statue were similarly shielded. Odin, horrified, called out, "Fall back, close the portal!"

The three remaining mages ran back and Thor, remembering himself and with a sudden new wave of dread and horror, looked down at Fandral. Horrified, frightened, unfocused eyes looked back at him from below an unmarked brow, no older looking than from before the blast and very much alive.

Thor let out an inarticulate sound of relief before pulling them both to their feet and running somewhat unsteadily back to the portal, dragging Fandral with him. Odin, already on Asgard's side of the arch, saw their approach and his face filled with recognition, first shocked, then angry, then frightened, all within a moment.

Flashes of light filled the edge of Thor's vision as the encircling skyscrapers launched another strike. Thor, far too distant from the portal to reach it in time, pulled Fandral to the ground again, his eyes on his father as the portal closed and then his vision was engulfed in red again.


	5. Chapter 5

Fandral and Thor retreated down the streets away from the plaza. While the roads and buildings were undamaged by the blasts, they were now littered with the bodies of Asgard's warriors. The attacks had stopped as soon as the portal closed but the eerie civilians, also unaffected by the blast, still watched them. Too exposed, they had dragged each other away, still dizzy from whatever aftereffects they were suffering from.

Suddenly there was a clatter from the building next to them and an Asgardian soldier crashed out the door, having seemed to have fallen down the stairs. The man blinked up at them, his eyes haunted and confused. Thor grabbed him and pulled him back inside the building, wary of the people still watching them in the street.

They hadn't even closed the door behind them before the solder started exclaiming, his voice slightly slurred "You're alive! Thank the Allfather, you're alive! You're alive, you're alive…"

The solder, looking worn, slumped to the floor after Thor let him go, while Fandral, no better off, leaned heavily against a wall. The three were silent for a moment, the reality of their situation starting to sink in.

Fandral blinked at the solder then exclaimed with wide eyes, "Ethgar!" The solder frowned up at him.

"You know him?" Thor asked.

"He was our, erm, informant." Fandral said with a meek shrug. Ethgar glared up at him before he slumped back to the ground, looking up at the ceiling.

There was another pause before Thor asked, "Is there anyone in this building?" The solder was silent, staring into space until Thor nudged him and repeated himself.

"Sorry, sorry… yes, three locals, all adults, upstairs and at least one down the, the hall… Oh my…" He turned his head in said direction, his face awash with grief. "Why are we alive?"

"We will worry about that later, right now we need to get out of here." Thor made to head down the hall, then paused looking back at the other two; Fandral swayed from where he had pushed himself off the wall and Ethgar was struggling to sit up. Thor sighed. "Wait here. I'll just be a moment…"

Thor stalked down the corridor, his head much clearer than it had been outside. The first two rooms were empty, but in the third room a civilian stood with her back to the door, looking out of the window. She turned to face him when she heard the door. Her skin was snowy, her hair a dark blue, eyes black and ears pointed. Thor did not recognise her species.

She smiled widely when she saw him. "Thor!"

Thor hesitated, "You know me?"

"We have been expecting you." She nodded, and Thor felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something was not right with her eyes.

"What do you know about all this?" Thor spotted the body of an Asgardian warrior, slumped up behind the door.

She smiled her head tiled to one side, "It is the Will of the Mother. You are blessed, Son of Odin." Thor sighed gritting his teeth as the same old dogma when the woman twitched and her face went blank. Her accent changed and she spoke quickly, "Do not respond to what I say now, oaf. Leave through the front door, away from the plaza, second left, fourth right, first left, the double grey doors with a diagonal mark. A regiment is heading your way, change your clothes." She blinked and the smile came back, her accent shifting back "You would be wise accept this transition, Thor. We can make your time very pleasing if you comply. We have much to offer."

Thor was expressionless, "I understand. And if I refuse?"

She shrugged. "You will be restrained."

Thor nodded, "I don't seem to have much choice then…"

The woman smiled wider and Thor left the room, closing the door behind him. Quickly he rummaged through the other two rooms, finding a drawer containing grey sheets which he wagered would work as robes.

He walked briskly back to Fandral and Ethgar, who were both stood propped against a wall, talking in low voices. "Remove your armour, quickly! Put these on!"

They started to obey immediately, though their movements were somewhat sluggish.

"We were just talking," Fandral said, "And we think we have worked out why we are alive. Well, why he and I are, at any rate." Thor nodded as he undid the clasps on his armour - Royal armour may be enchanted to make use of sub-dimensional pockets, but the armour of foot soldiers was not. He could always destroy it by summoning his own, but then he would have the trouble of re-storing his own armour after.

"When you shielded me the first time," Fandral continued, "You put your hand on my neck. Now I am not too clear, because it was all a bit hazy, but I fancy I felt an energy surge go through me and up into you, through your hand." Fandral nodded to Ethgar, "He had his hand on the wrist of one of the civilians when the first wave hit."

Ethgar nodded, "I… I missed what the Allfather said about not touching them. I was trying to get her away from one of the windows. I didn't let go after the first hit, I was in the same room as…" He paused, his voice faltering.

Gently, Fandral picked up where he left off, "Ethgar was still holding on to the same woman's wrist when the second strike hit. And your hand touched mine when you tried to shield me again."

Thor nodded, "Those who are already infected act like a lightning rod to protect those who are not."

"That was what we thought." Fandral said. "Did you find anything useful besides sheets?"

"Just one of _them_. She didn't say much…" Thor sent him a look and jerked his head back down the corridor. Fortunately Ethgar seemed to get the hint too as he didn't comment.

They were silent as they got ready, Thor finishing before the other two, taking the time to peer out of a window and into the street. A couple of civilians walked past, heading away from the plaza.

"Ready." Fandral said behind him.

"Right. Both of you follow close behind me, keep your heads down and covered, try to avoid drawing any attention. Don't say anything unless you feel it is necessary."

Ethgar nodded. "Sir."

"Understood." Fandral said.

Thor opened the door and walked calmly into the street, Fandral and Ethgar at his heels.

The streets were deserted, the windows were empty and, the distant sounds of engines and the wind aside, the city was quiet. Following the directions, Thor kept his eyes open for any locals, doing his best to keep them hidden, ducking into doors or allies to avoid passers-by.

Less than a street away from their target, tucked into an arch way as a couple walked by, Ethgar spoke up, "Do you hear that? Some kind of machine, back the way we came."

Thor paused and listened. The sound was distant, barely audible even in such a quiet city. "You have good ears." He checked the street again, "Come."

Keeping close to the wall he looked out for the double doors with the diagonal mark. He didn't have to look for long; the green diagonal stripe, though dull, stood out clearly amongst all the grey and tan.

"In there!"

The doors were unlocked, leading to a forked corridor which was lit with dull red light. A few paces from the door, an old man leaned against the wall. Like the woman, his eyes were black and his ears pointed.

"Hello, and about time." he said, "Close the door, I need to talk to you."

The trio, keeping their eyes open, did as told, watching the old man warily.

"Oh don't look at me like that, you great brutes. Does this body look like it will pose much threat to you?"

Thor went to speak, but stopped himself. Fandral frowned while Ethgar held back closest to the door.

The old man chuckled. "Not quite so witless today then. But I know what you are thinking. Let's see… it was a trading outpost, called Raithark. There was a woman, a Kir'ka, purple skin with luminescent blue freckles… She took quite a shine to you, didn't she, Thor? How many days did it take for you to shake her? Oh, now what was her name…?"

"Loki!" Thor was grinning.

"No, no, that's _me_. _Her_ name was… Ah, Purdeeth. How long did the scar from her 'love bite' last again?" The old man's face was split in a wide grin and Fandral was chuckling.

"What's this then?" Thor said stepping forward, "A possession trick? And why pick someone so old? He looks ready to drop."

"A sort of possession, yes – and he did drop, that is why I am able to use him so freely." The old man pushed himself from the wall. "And you are one to talk about being old, Thor, you are not looking so spry as the last time I saw you, either."

It was true; the grey was spreading rapidly through Thor's hair, and even in the dim red light, the lines on his face were clearly visible.

"Follow me," Loki said, "I will explain as we walk. And, you will have to excuse me if the pace is a bit slow - this bag of bones doesn't have much left in it."

The old man began walking – hobbling – down a corridor that sloped downwards, and the others followed.

"So talk. Tell us what you have found out."

"Never were one for small talk, were you Thor?"

"Not when we are pressed for time in enemy territory."

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to control a body that is dead? Forgive me if I am not my usual brilliant self. " A hush fell on the group then and Loki smirked.

"Dead?" Ethgar spoke up first, somewhat meekly.

Loki nodded, "The first lovely little titbit about this place; about one in ten of the population is walking dead. When someone is converted to their cult, or a child born here comes of age, they become infected with the mark of The Mother. The Mark is the manifestation of a soul siphon, which connects every person infected with it to a single soul sink. When someone marked dies from the siphon, their life force is drawn into the sink, and there it stays. Unless, it gets sent back into a body, one killed by the siphon, to give it new life - of a sort."

"Wait, wait," Thor said, suddenly alarmed. He took hold of the old man's arm gently, "Loki…"

"I'm not dead, Thor." The old man peered up at him, "Let's just say my attention is very much divided right now."

Thor nodded and sighed, relieved.

Loki continued, "This body died from the siphon not long ago. Fortunately, by that point I had learned enough about the curse from my own infection that I was able to mentally follow it to its source and from there, explore the other branches of it, the other people infected by it. I felt this one's life force leave and commandeered the body before the priests could send one of their loyal dogs to revive it. Unfortunately," he stopped walking to stretch his back, "I lack the ability to revitalize this body as someone under the command of the priesthood would. Ugh."

"They have a significant number of our soldiers now, their lives and their bodies… There are also seven bodies in Asgard, I doubt they will have been taken care of yet."

"I know… They will also have their memories." Loki added which caused Thor to look sharply at him. Behind them Fandral cursed. Loki continued, "When a new lifeforce takes over a body, they can access it's memories, all of them. Unfortunately for me, like the revitalization, my access is limited. Besides, this one was just a tailor." Loki paused a beat then added, "I am not sure how much access the priests have to the memories of people who died from the siphon without them possessing their bodies."

"And when we die they get our bodies and our memories too" Thor added quietly.

"Yes…. Quite possibly our power as well."

Thor cursed this time.

Behind them, Fandral said, angry and distressed "There has to be some way to stop this. There must."

"We get to the soul sink." Loki said as he started walking again, "If we find its physical vessel, I may be able to destroy it all."

"I like that plan." Thor said. "We just have to find it."

"Working on it. By the way, I take it you do have Mjölnir hidden under those bed sheets?"

"Yes. And is it really that obvious?" Thor said, picking at his robe.

"Oh no, they are very fetching."

Thor smirked and shook his head and the group continued in silence for a few paces before he spoke up again. "What about these priests, what can they do? And, what did you mean you are able to follow the curse to other people it has infected?_ I_ am infected."

Loki laughed, "Ohh, Thor, relax. Yes, I can sense you too, I knew you instantly - how do you think I tracked you so easily? But - you'll be glad to hear - your life force is too strong in your body for me to do anything other than know you are infected and to get a sense of your general location. You're not dead, are you?"

"Hmm. What about that woman?" Thor sounded unconvinced.

Loki nodded, "Dead, of course. The life force controlling it was not the original owner and thus not fully rooted to the body. And so, I was able to force my way through, briefly."

Fandral let out a sound of comprehension behind them and Ethgar looked impressed.

Thor nodded, "And the Priests?"

"Also dead, but, unlike the Witnesses – the rest of the revived, walking dead – the Priests are returned to their own bodies and still have one foot in the soul sink. The Priests can co-host the bodies of Witnesses, see through their eyes, coordinate them all as a single unit. They can also infect others by touch - our dear Ambassador was a Priest, she just didn't let on. So was her assistant."

"Makes sense." Thor said where he walked slowly by Loki's side.

"The priest are dangerous, Thor, faster, stronger, more capable then they were in life. Do not underestimate them. Witnesses are enhanced too, just not to the same degree."

"Noted. Anything else? And where are you taking us?"

"To the under-city. I haven't tracked the precise physical location of the Soul Sink yet, but I know it is down there. You will know a priest when you see one, unless they are undercover; they are the ones dressed to compensate for the lack of colour in the rest of the city."

"What about your real body?"

"I will join you on rout."

The four walked in silence for a while. The progress was very slow; Loki's borrowed body limped along at a snail's pace. Thor eyed up the old man then smirked slightly, "Do you want me to carry you? Would that make this go faster?" Fandral and Ethgar snorted.

"Hahaha, laugh it up Thor, mock while you can. Your strength won't last much longer, either."

"Was that a yes or a no?"

Loki paused, stopped and looked up at Thor with a smirk on his lips. "We would go faster…"

"Are you serious? …Alright."

Thor moved to scoop Loki up into his arms but Loki held up his hands. "Nononono… You are not going to carry me like a child, no. Kneel."

Thor blinked at him. "You mean to ride on my back? I am not your horse, Loki."

Behind them Fandral was chuckling, "Oh come on Thor, it'll be entertaining! And it'll get the pace up at least."

Thor shot him a look, "Fandral! You are siding with him?"

"Time is running short Thor, come one." Loki said with a smirk, pointing to the ground by his feet. Thor scowled and Loki smirked. "It was your idea, Thor."

"Fine! Alright." Thor turned on his heel and knelt with his back to Loki, though he still watched him over his shoulder. When Loki just smirked and tilted his head, he snapped, "Well! Come on!"

"Oh calm down, Thor, I was merely working out how best to do this. This body is not exactly spry you know."

"Of course you were…"

With a bit of grunting and shifting, Loki clambered on to Thor's back while Fandral sniggered and Ethgar fought to repress his own amusement.

"This was your idea." Loki sing-songed as Thor stood up.

"Just be glad you are neither large nor heavy in this body."

"Bah, it'll teach you to be less proud. Now giddy up."

Thor almost dropped him there and then.


	6. Chapter 6

The young princes, not quite into their full height yet and certainly not into their full bulk, were the unofficial talk of the party. The banquet was in joint celebration of the Hadraar delegation and the princes' successful return from a hunt – an anniversary celebration – which had gone badly wrong. Tales of young Thor's heroic daring were being spoken back and forth around the halls, and occasionally some, usually older folk, would speak admiringly of Loki's tactical brilliance.

"The beasts were huge! Why, you would be hard pressed to get just one into these halls, let alone two!" Thor enthusiastically retold the story to the small group of Asir women and aspiring warriors around him.

A short distance away, Loki snorted into his goblet. They just got bigger and bigger with each retelling, didn't they?

"They surrounded us and our prey was taken down with one swipe of one of their great paws. I took my sword and charged the leader as it was distracted by its meal, leaping at its hideous scared face, I brought my sword down into its eye!"

Loki frowned; Thor would not have made it to the alpha had he not dazzled his pack mates with a flare. Thor may have been exaggerating their size somewhat, but they were still easily large enough to snap an Asier in two with one bite of those huge jaws. They had been frighteningly fast too, given their size.

Next to Loki, an elderly Asier, his hair completely white and his face heavily lined said, "Pay him no mind, Loki. The boy is just trying to carve out a name for himself. He doesn't have your calibre of mind to save him, after all."

Next to him, the old man's wife huffed, "Regardless, it is dishonourable to disregard the contributions of your comrades." She narrowed her eyes at Thor as she peered at him over her own goblet, "He will learn." Loki grinned at the threat in her tone of voice. She looked at him, her expression perfectly neutral and winked.

Across the room a movement caught his eye as one of the Hadraar entourage was shoved to the ground by one of his peers and a female moved fast to defend him, claws unsheathed, teeth bared.

Loki, curious and feeling it was his duty as a high ranking Asier and thus host to the delegation, excused himself from his table and walked over to investigate.

"We are not afraid of you, freaks. What is your Na going to do hmm? Disown family? Kah!"

"We were minding our own business."

"You shouldn't even be here! Your Na should not have brought you, nor your brother."

"What is this?" Loki stepped forward.

The Hadraar all turned to look at him. They were a fairly tall species, usually standing at least a good head taller than the average Asgardian, but they were slim, most of their height in their legs. They were colourful too, with feathers instead of hair, coming in all sorts of colours, usually in the blue end of the spectrum.

The one who had been thrown to the ground groaned and sat up, rich turquoise feathers a little ruffled looking, paler turquoise skin on his brow darkening in a bruise. His defender, a female who had the same colouring, spoke up, "We are sincerely sorry for the disruption, Prince Loki, it was… a disagreement."

"It won't happen again." Said the aggressor, who had a deep sapphire feathers and sky blue skin.

"See that it doesn't." Looking directly at the darker one, he said, "I may want to talk to you later. Now go."

The sapphire male hesitated then bowed with a flourish before turning to walk swiftly away, many of the other Hadraar following close behind.

Loki cocked his head at the two who were left, after the male was pulled to his feet. "What was all that about, really?"

The male addressed him first, "I… if it pleases you, sire, may we talk over a drink?"

Loki nodded and the three settled themselves down at a table, Loki requesting some wine from a servant while the other two ordered a Hadraarin brew.

"Now, introductions first, if I am going to share a drink with you." Loki said, raising his goblet of wine, taking a small sip. The other two nodded.

"Raithree." Said the female.

"Raithrin." Said the male.

Loki blinked then smiled and shook his head. "All right. So, what was that about? I take it you two are siblings…" Indeed, were it not for small changes in their build and subtleties in their faces, they would have been identical.

The two shared a look then Rathree spoke up. "Yes… we are twins. And that is the issue…"

"Are twins not normal on Hadranun?"

Raithrin spoke up next, his tone uncertain, "You know how sex and gender works for our species?"

"I take it you do not mean mating." Loki smirked briefly and the two across from him shared a flicker of amusement. "Yes. You are all hermaphrodites. Gender is determined by hormones and personality traits, which also helps determine your place in society. You use gender binary when interacting with other species but amongst yourselves that is further split into another sixteen genders."

The two were solemn and Raithrin said, "Most of us are hermaphrodites. Some – we – are not." He paused and sighed, gathering his thoughts. Loki leaned forward on his elbows, interested. "Rarely, an embryo in early development will split into twins. Usually the split is even, but sometimes, though the genetics are the same, the sexual development of the two will be uneven, leaving one male and one female. It is said to be an evolutionary throw back."

"That is just a theory." Raithree said, quietly.

"Oh. You are identical twins."

"Genetically, yes." Said Raithrin. "It is… looked down upon, for any of our own to be either male or female. Although it is considered perfectly acceptable in other species." He added the last part hastily.

"Hm." Loki leaned back in his chair and taking up his goblet again, swirling the contents. "You… get that a lot?" He motioned with his goblet back to where the fight had happened. They both nodded, taking up their own drinks simultaneously. "And this is all it was, just bigotry because of your sex?"

The two looked at each other, uncertain, but Raithrin nodded and Raithree said, lowly, "Yes."

Loki looked down at the swirling contents on his goblet and was quiet for a little while. Then, "I sympathize." The two across from him looked at him quizzically and Loki shrugged. "I am not a typical Asier male. Had I been born female, my passions, my inclinations, would have been considered normal, encouraged even. My passion for sorcery, for example, is considered a woman's art here. As it is, more often than not, I am mocked." He smile was thin as he raised his goblet in a toast before downing a good mouthful.

The two across from him wore expressions of sympathy. Raithree made a slightly high-pitched clicking sound in her throat, something Loki knew from his own trip to their world as part of a diplomatic envoy was associated with children in distress. Raithrin looked away, bobbing his head a little, probably trying to fight the same expression. They must be young, Loki reasoned.

He changed the topic then, something inane and entertaining, a story of one of his pranks against an overly pompous member of court who had always shown particular disdain towards Loki. To his surprise and delight, the twins started adding their own commentary and thoughts on what they may have done in his stead – turns out he wasn't the only one who was prone to vengeful mischief.

Sometime later, the three of them were all rather drunk, their heads close as they leaned into the table plotting ways to get back at Huoroon, the blue Hadraar who had lead the aggression against Raithrin earlier, when Thor decided to finally track his brother down.

"What's this? Making friends with some of the delegation, brother?" He said with a wide grin, clearly merry but not quite as drunk as Loki at that point.

Loki grinned widely back at him, slumping back into his seat in a relaxed sprawl. When he spoke though, his tone was barbed. "Why yes, I have been furthering diplomatic relations with our guests. How have your relations been going with your already converted admirers, hmm?"

"Loki! I have done nothing wrong. Why the sour tone?" He dragged a spare seat over, seemingly oblivious to Rathrin and Rathree's discomfort.

"Oh, nothing much. Its just, hearing you talk this evening, anyone would think you were the sole reason for our survival. Having been there and seen the facts, I do believe I would have made it out of there alone, but you on the other hand, would certainly have been slain." He was goading Thor, he knew, but he was drunk enough by this point not to care. What was riling Thor compared to the potential minor diplomatic incident he and his co-conspirators were just discussing?

Thor huffed, but his eyes looked conflicted, darting around to check for onlookers, "You think too much of yourself. You would have died in that forest without me, and I will not hear your lies saying otherwise."

Loki laughed "My lies? You lie by omission, Thor! Or have you already forgotten already about the flare that blinded the pack, the mist that helped us escape, or when I influence the mind of the alpha so it wouldn't rip you to pieces?"

"Tricks!" Thor was on his feet now, knocking the chair over, many people turning to look, "What wars were won by tricks? What songs were ever sung of it? What glory is in it? Perhaps you should rely less on your magic and more on your training. Perhaps then you might be looked upon with more favour." Grabbing his drink, Thor stormed off.

Loki was frozen, all too aware of the eyes on him and on Thor's back as he vanished among the crowds. In the silence surrounding them, he became aware of faint clicking coming from both of the twins. Both were ducked down in their seats slightly, eyes wide and their pointed teeth slightly bared, watching Thor leave, before turning back to Loki.

"He won't hurt you." He said to them softly.

"Don't care." Said Raithree, sullenly.

"Don't like him." Said Raithrin, with more bite in his tone.

Loki just snorted and grabbed a goblet from the table. "I'll drink to that. He is an oaf."

He downed a couple of mouthfuls of his drink before making a face and spraying some of it back out. Coughing and blinking, he peered at the contents of his drink. It was the wrong colour – wrong drink.

"Oh, I'm sorry, um…" He coughed again, the alien drink irritating his throat.

Smirking Raithree said, "It's ok, I have seen a few other Aesir try it before. It is not harmful to your species, though most don't seem to like the taste."

Loki nodded, then started coughing again, trying to blink his eyes free of tears.

There was a commotion to the side and Thor pushed back through the crowds, Fandral hot on his heels.

"Thor, please, just let it go. Thor-"

"You want to challenge me, brother?!" Thor barked at Loki, interrupting Fandral. "You really want to test who will out do the other in a fight?"

"You – you are the one shouting at me, I-" Loki clutched at his midriff as his gut started to cramp. He turned sharply towards the twins. "Are you sure – hn - that stuff is safe for Aesir?"

Thor's rage dropped like a stone, replaced with confusion and concern, "Safe? What are you talking about?"

Raithree pushed her goblet closer to Thor, looking stricken "Prince Loki accidently drank some of my ale after you left, sire."

Fandral picked it up, sniffed it and pulled a face. "Just Hadraarin Verun ale. I tried some earlier. Not to my taste I am afraid."

"Loki," Thor began, as Loki doubled up in pain.

"That's – I –" And with that, Loki slipped off his chair to his knees and threw up.

Thor knelt by Loki's side, holding his hair in one hand, with the other hand on his shoulder, the surrounding crowd watching them.

Behind them Fandral said, sounding worried, "I'll go fetch a healer." He rushed off, forcing his way through the crowd as fast as he could.

"Loki," Thor's voice was very close to Loki's head, "This… this isn't right, that shouldn't be toxic…"

Loki barely had enough time to shoot Thor a withering look before, shaking now, he threw up again, his vision swimming and gut feeling full of broken glass.

Distracted as he was he only just caught Thor's curse followed by him commanding someone to grab the wine goblet, take the twins into custody and then before he knew what was happening he was being lifted like a child into Thor's arms. He yelled in pain.

His perception was something of a blur after that, his only clear memory was of being jostled as Thor walked which caused him blinding pain, fighting the urge to throw up and bit of things that Thor said to people as he walked;

"-tell them I am bringing Loki direct to the healing-"

"-word to the ambassador to the Had-"

At one point he thought he heard feminine voices giggling, a glimpse of brightly coloured gowns and a woman's voice;

"Oh Thor, why won't you sweep me off my feet like that? You handle him so well."

Thor replied in a boastful tone, "My lady, perhaps when I am done with my brother I will be back for you."

More giggling and, "I would look better in your arms then him."

"Aye, and more feminine too, though he tries."

Loki blanked anything else out, torn between pain, nausea and outrage. It was some point very shortly after that he stop bothering trying not to throw up again, both in general and onto Thor.

"Loki!"

Thor's grip slackened momentarily and Loki twisted himself out of his brothers arms, falling to the ground with a thump that he immediately regretted, despite Thor's attempts to break his fall.

"Don't… want… your _help_, Thor!" He gasped.

"Loki, you are sick, very sick, I have to get you to the healers, _now_." Thor went to pick him up again. Loki tried to resist but when another bout of sickness and pain sent him almost cross eyed, he had been picked up and was on the move again before he quite realised what happened.

After that, he had vague memories of them reaching a healer partway to the healing chambers, who began to examine him even as Thor continued to carry him the rest of the way. He blanked out for a while and his next memory was of lying on a cot in the healing chambers, his mother sat beside him, soothing his hair from his face.

"M-mother… how… where…"

"You were poisoned." Odin said from somewhere behind him. Loki twisted to look, blessedly free of any pain or sickness. "It was accidental, so the two Hadraar who were involved have been released."

Loki sighed, relieved.

Odin continued, walking up to him, "It seems that some quirk of your body reacts violently to Hadraarin ale, which, now we have looked into it further, is mildly poisonous to the average Asgardian anyway, you just had a particularly violent reaction to it."

Loki nodded leaning back on the cot, tired. "Are the twins alright?"

"Twins? Yes, they are well, though very worried. They have been in distress since you first became sick, apologising constantly and asking after you ever since Thor first brought you here. You have no need to worry, all parties are convinced of their innocence. Would you like to see them?"

Loki nodded.

"Then, I will permit them entry, but only after you have rested."

"Father-"

"No. You don't realise how bad things nearly became. Indeed, it is questionable whether or not you would have survived had you not received treatment."

Loki paled and looked quickly at Odin before glancing at Frigga, who nodded solemnly.

"You will rest, my son, then you may speak to your new acquaintances. Now, I have work to do." Odin walked towards the door, pausing at the threshold to add, "if you do not rest, I will hear of it."

Loki nodded and closed his eyes, cringing at the memory of Thor's strutting in front of those women. That would haunt him, he knew.

###

Down in the tunnels, heading deeper and deeper below the huge city of Atarinca, Loki, his consciousness in the borrowed body of a very old tailor, road on Thor's back while Fandral and Ethgar walked behind them.

Everything was silent until Fandral spoke up. "Do you remember the banquet during one of the Hadraar delegations? The one after your hunt with the Velrooks?"

Loki almost sighed at having that brought up now and he was only a little surprised to feel Thor tense. All he said, his tone deliberately one of chagrin, was "How could I forget?"

Thor replied, in a way that Loki found all too calculated, "I remember the prank you played on me on the last day of the feasting." His tone was almost sullen.

Loki smirked, playing along, "But you looked so lovely in that dress! The frills and the lace and the veil… it was a work of art!"

Ethgar was sniggering behind them and muttered, "I remember that."

"I looked like a pink and yellow puff ball. I'll never live that one down." Thor glanced back at Fandral as he walked, "Why do you bring that up?"

"Well, unless I was mistaken, I believe I spotted a Hadraan amounts the witnesses earlier. Loki made quite a few contacts amongst their people, starting that day. I was wondering if there was anything we could use there."

Loki twisted to look at Fandral as best he could in the worn out old body he was borrowing but Fandral's face was the picture of curious neutrality. It was a pathetic excuse to bring that particular feast up, and they all knew it. Maintaining the pretence, Loki replied, "There are Hadraan here but they are just as brainwashed as the others. I have made a little headway with two of them, but it is little more than friendly banter."

"Ah, never mind then. It was worth asking."

"Hmm."

Thor was still tense but remained silent. The group was quiet as Loki contemplated that he never had received an apology from Thor for what he had done to him that day with his foolish strutting, and that strange little exchange was probably as close as he would ever get to receiving one.

Ahead the tunnel opened out in a large chamber, supported by many pillars.

"Ah," Loki said, "At last. There should be a vessel waiting here for us. It will take us deep below the city."

"Right." Thor quickened his pace as he marched towards the chamber. "Anything we should be worried about?"

"No, it should be deserted."

"Shouldn't they be on to us by now?" Fandral asked behind them.

Ethgar nodded, "Given they must have plans to deal with any strays who made it past the first strike, I am surprised we have been unchallenged."

Thor nodded, "They must be arrogant. We are trapped in their city after all, with very limited time."

"I'd say confident is a better word," Loki said as Thor spotted the boat like craft resting near an arched tunnel. "I do not think they expected me to be able to accomplish all that I have in my time here, but even so, this is a very large city and I do not know everything, yet."

The group walked over to the craft quickly, looking around for anyone who may be watching. It was deserted, as Loki said it would be. Thor set Loki down in the craft, Fandral and Ethgar jumping in behind them.

In front of the controls, Thor said, "What do I do? There are only two buttons that I can see."

"Just push the white one."

"Is that it?"

"Yes. It is an automated ship. The white button is on, the grey one is off."

Thor looked back at Loki, frowning. "Automated? You are sure this is going to go where we want it to? What if we run into any trouble?"

"That tunnel only goes to one place, and if we meet any trouble on rout then for their sake they had better be very durable. These ships go fast and are shielded when in motion."

Thor sighed and nodded, "Alright. What about our destination?"

"There will be some workers and probably some guards, nothing you won't all be able to handle."

"I hope that is all we will find." Thor said and pushed the white button.

A low hum started and the ship hovered above the ground, moving slowly towards the tunnel entrance. As soon as it crossed the threshold it picked up speed, accelerating until the walls were a blur and the energy field surrounding the ship glowed silver at the front from the air pressure.

"Not bad." Fandral said, when the ship seemed to have reached optimum speed after a few seconds.

Loki smirked slumping down in his seat. It was a shame, he thought to himself, that he would not get a better view. He allowed his consciousness to fade from the old body and the last perception he received from it was Thor's concerned face.

"Loki?"

###

"Any moment now." Loki said, leaning on his arms as he looked down into the tank bellow them.

"Any problems?"

"None."

"Good. Very good."

A high pitched whine sounded from the tunnel below them, decreasing in pitch by the moment. The ship pulled out of the tunnel and into the enclosure, a door sealing shut behind them.

"Hello down there!" Loki called down to them, his hands cupped around his mouth in mockery of the situation.

"Loki!" Thor called up to him, enraged, Mjölnir in hand.

"As you have probably guessed, you are all trapped!" Loki called down, still mocking.

Thor started to swing Mjölnir and Loki nodded to a marked pink eyed reptilian who pushed a button on a stand next to it. The walls of the tank below him glowed red and Fandral lunged towards Thor, already having grabbed Ethgar. Loki didn't see if they made it in time through the flare, though when it cleared, the three of them were slumped to the ground next to the vacant body of the old tailor.

"Well. That was simple." Loki said, looking up at the green marked Hadraar who grinned back him, his pointed teeth on full display.


	7. Chapter 7

Thor's mind was foggy. What had happened? Had he been drinking? He paused a moment. No, it wasn't that... not that this didn't feel like a very bad hangover. Had he been in a fight? His whole body ached and his joints were stiff. He groaned.

"Ah, the sleeping beauty awakens."

"L- Loki?" His throat was raw and his voice was scratchy and strained. "Wha – what happened?"

"Give it a moment, it'll come back…"

Thor tried to open is eyes, though they were sore and full of grit. His vision was blurred and he found himself facing an indistinct gray mass. A stone wall? He tried to blink to clear his vision but the same foggy mistiness stayed. He reached up to rub his face and startled; those were not his hands, were they? They were old! Very old - The skin looked tissue thin, age marked, the vessels and tendons standing out in sharp relief. Was this an illusion, a prank? It didn't feel like an illusion. A body swap spell…? Or…

"Here it comes…" Loki's voice didn't quite sound right either. It was a bit rougher than normal. Like he had been shouting or…

…Like his voice had aged.

"Finally. You really are not the sharpest in the realms, are you?"

Thor tried to sit up only to grunt in pain and collapse back when his joins, stiff and painful, refused to do as commanded.

"Although," Loki continued from somewhere nearby, his tone amused and somewhat scathing, "I can hardly blame you for this one. Your mind and soul have been through an ordeal, to say nothing of your body…"

Everything came rushing back; the ambassador, the curse, the subterfuge instigating himself into the counter attack against the Atarinncerion Cult, the utter failure of their defenses against the city's attack, fleeing into the metropolis with Fandral, finding Ethgar, the message from Loki via one the Witnesses, finding him in possession of the old man, the ship…

"You…!" He tried to sit up again, managing to prop himself up on his elbow before his body fell back into an uncooperative heap again.

"Ah, I would take it slow if I were you. The transition from how you were to how you are will take some getting used to."

"Why?" Thor gasped, trying to focus on the blurred shape of a person crouched nearby, whom he assumed was Loki.

"Well, it is just like any transition from one state to another, it takes time! It is unwise to rush, Thor. If it will help, picture you have been gravely wounded in a battle but your body is not healing as fast as it would normally. Were you wounded during your brief stint as a mortal - baring the blow that returned you to form, of course? Picture that."

"That is not what I meant." Thor growled out, his voice like gravel. He was still squinting, trying to blink his vision clear. "And I hardly think your betrayal is a wise topic to bring up with me, _brother_." His chest felt tight and breathing was not easy, so he paused a beat to take a breath. "Why, Loki? What happened?" As he spoke, he tried to get his bearings, getting a feel for his body, checking for Mjölnir… it was gone. Thor tried calling out to it but instead of the warm static he usually felt in response there was only a distant cold crackle in the back of his mind, something he hadn't felt since his banishment.

Loki paused a moment before saying, in a cool tone, "It won't obey you Thor, not anymore."

"What have you done?" He said, as something about the way Loki had been talking to him since his awakening – more specifically, _what_ he had been saying – started to click into place.

"Let's just say you are not quite the person you once were."

_Or maybe I should say, you are more than the person you once were._

Thor gaped in horror as Loki's voice, clear as it had ever been, rand out inside his head. "You – get out of my head!" His shout made his throat, which was still raw, catch and he started coughing.

"Do you remember what I said about the priests, Thor? Stronger and more powerful then they were before death, able to co-host the bodies of the witness, to see through their eyes, to control them?"

Though his sight was blurred, Thor could see and hear Loki's grin and all he could feel in response was horror and dread. No…

_Yes… Welcome to the Atarinncerion sect, Thor. And, welcome to servitude._

"You betrayed us, you betrayed Asgard…" He didn't say the last part, not now, not this time.

"Asgard is weak. You do not know what the Atarin are capable of. If not now then in a few short decades, Asgard was going to be converted anyway. Better to have one of its own rule over Asgard transformed, then to see another change it into something wholly unrecognizable."

"I can't… I can't believe this. Not even you would sell out all of Asgard, you-"

"-Was their King? Yes, and I will be again, soon. Rest, Thor. You will feel better as you get used to your body." Loki stood up then, and walked to the door which Thor could now see was propped open.

"It won't be Asgard!" Thor called after him, hoarsely, "If they succeed, if you do rule over whatever it is they make of our home, it won't be Asgard anymore. You know this. Please, Loki, think about this!"

"I have thought about it." Loki said from the door, "And I have made my choice. Now, look which us rots in prison and which of us walks free. I'll speak to you soon, Thor."

"Loki, please!" Thor called after him, but the door closed with a solid metallic thump and Thor was left alone.

###

Fandral paced around the tiny stone cell that he and Ethgar had been placed in, or rather, woken up in. Leaning against the wall by the door, Ethgar rubbed his forehead again.

Fandral sighed, "I told you, it's fine, there's no mark."

"Wish I had a mirror…"

"And here I would just be happy with proper sanitation facilities at this point." Fandral said sparing another withering glance at the small drainage hole in the floor, the only feature in the room other than the door and the small dome of light on the ceiling.

Fandral went to pace the room again – four strides across and the same in length – when there was a voice the other side of the door. "You'll have to forgive the room, prisons are not something usually required here. Crime is almost unheard of and the cells are more a deterrent for the rare rebellious mind than anything else."

"Loki!" Fandral called back, "Let us out!"

"Stand away from the door, don't try anything foolish and we will talk."

"Why should we talk to you, traitor?" Ethgar growled sullenly.

"You are not about to make any progress here, locked in a featureless stone box, are you? This is your only chance."

Ethgar and Fandral shared a look. Fandral shrugged and Ethgar shook his head and sighed, moving a couple of paces to stand opposite the door.

"Fine," Fandral said to the door, "We'll behave. Come in?"

The door clicked and Fandral gasped as Loki walked into the room. He knew logically that Loki would have aged like Thor, but having not seen the transition over time the sudden change from what he knew caught him by surprise. Loki's hair was a more silver then black now, and his face was lined and more gaunt then he ever remembered it being. There were shadows around his more sunken eyes and he seemed smaller, thinner, then ever before. The dark mark on his forehead was identical to what the Ambassador once had.

Loki smirked at the shocked reaction and said with a small flourish, "Surprise." He closed the door behind him and keeping his hand on it, closed his eyes. After a moment the door rippled with green energy and he sighed, opening his eyes again "Finally, some privacy."

"What was that?" Fandral asked with a frown.

"Call it a perception filter. As long as the spell holds I can make anyone outside of this room hear whatever I wish. To maintain it however, I need contact with the door so fighting is in none of our best interests right now."

"That remains to be seen." Ethgar said lowly.

"What would people outside of the room be hearing, then?" Fandral asked with a curious look.

Loki smirked and leaned back against the door. "That I, as a friend and a brother in arms, am trying to persuade you to join the Atarinncerion cause." Loki shot them a look which clearly said, _as if_.

"And that's not what you are here for?" Ethgar said before Fandral could say anything.

Loki made a derisive sound, "Do you really think I would toe the line with these mind slaved demented wraiths? You think I would hand over my freedom to them? No."

"In that case, why the ruse?" Fandral asked. "You certainly seemed to be working with them before you had us all knocked unconscious. And what happened to Thor?"

"Thor is fine. You, and he, were supposed to believe I was working with them, because _they_ needed to believe it."

"Why?"

Loki shot Fandral an '_are you stupid?'_ look, "I was brought here as a prisoner and we had no time. Did the sorcerers back in Asgard work out how long Thor would have to live? Did they tell you?"

"Thor said, about three days…"

"Hmm, that would have been based on the aging continuing at a steady rate – they were wrong. He had a day and a half; the curse's progression was set to accelerate over time in order to pressure Odin into an all-out attack, if he had not already done so."

Fandral was stunned, "Then, he is running out of time. Where is he? And what about you? Isn't it the same for you?"

"It was, but they changed that after I convinced them I wanted to convert voluntarily."

"How did you manage that?" Ethgar said from just behind Fandral, a suspicious tone in his voice.

Loki sighed. "They are fanatics, and like all fanatics their minds are so lost in their cause they see little else. They were not hard to convince."

"What about Thor?" Fandral cut in with a note of worry.

Loki's expression flickered in what might have been irritation for a moment, but the look was gone as soon as it came. "He is as safe as he can be; I have done what I can. What matters now is that we have time and an opportunity to work without detection. This isn't just about us, they are trying to take over all of Asgard and every man, woman and child there is at risk. And, once they are done with us, all the Nine Realms will come under attack. If we are to save them, all of them, you have to listen to me and do as I say. Now, will you hear me out?"

Ethgar paused then nodded while Fandral replied with a quiet, "Yes."

Loki reached into his robes and pulled out a pencil and held it out to Fandral with a small smile. "First of all, I hope you two are familiar enough with the forehead brands by now to mimic them. It will be difficult to walk around freely otherwise."

"Are you serious?" Fandral said with a small smile as he took the pencil.

Ethgar was looking interested now, "That should be simple, the design is quite basic."

"You have an artistic bent, hmm? Be careful with the marker, it becomes tricky to remove after a few minutes."

"No chance of smudging then." Ethgar said with a small smile and a nod as he took the pencil from Fandral.

"Exactly." Loki said, and then continued, "When I leave, the door will be unlocked. Wait ten minutes, then head left." He pulled a small roll of parchment out of his robes. "Follow the directions on this map, it will bring you to one of the weapon generators. Sabotage it following those instruction – be careful, mess this up and it may blow up in your face so suddenly you won't even realize you are dead."

"What will happen if we follow your instructions correctly?" Fandral asked unrolling the parchment and studying it.

"It will blow up, but only after a delay."

"Ah. So this is a diversion then." Fandral said with a small smirk as he handed the parchment over to Ethgar.

"Mostly. It will also cause a significant delay if they decide to fire up the city weapons again. Once you are done with that, there are instructions on how to get to other generators in the city. Use the same method to sabotage them, with the addition of the small changes listed for each subsequent generator."

"To change how long it takes for them to explode, so they all go off at about the same time." Fandral said with a nod.

"Correct." Loki said with a small smirk. "One last thing, once you are done with the last generator, head out of the city and into the wastelands. Take some food and water with you and you'll be found soon enough. Oh, and if you see anyone you recognize from Asgard, other than myself, chances are you will be looking at a reanimated corpse. Keep your heads down, don't talk to them and try not to arouse any suspicion."

The other two nodded, sharing a glance before Fandral said, "And what will you be doing?"

"Saving Thor's oafish behind and destroying the curse, what else?"

Fandral paused a moment as he studied Loki, their eyes locked. After a long moment he said, "Well then, when do we head out?"

###

Deep in Asgard's halls, in a darkened, silent room adjacent to one of the healing halls, seven bodies lay entombed and waiting for proper funeral rituals to be performed. The air was still and yet a faint rustling of fabric could be heard. The silken shrouds covering the emaciating bodies shifted slowly as waisted muscles rejuvenated, fat and sinew restored itself.

Suddenly, one of them sat up, pushing down his shroud. He held up his arm, studying it as the flesh restored itself. Across from him, one of the others groaned, his arms moving beneath the cloth as he stretched.

The other side of him, another spoke up suddenly, "Ugh… I hate first awakening. It gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'growing pains'."

"Is it your own personal mission to always be the first to speak whenever we go through this, Ten?" Another croaked

"Old habits, my friend. Ugh…"

"Vreeten, Menif, quiet." Said the one who first sat up.

"Who's gonna hear us, Kel?" Said Vreeten, sitting up and pushing his shroud aside. "This isn't the old Praden settlements, where corpses were watched for fear of vampires and ghouls."

"No, this is Asgard. We still haven't mapped everything here, yet."

"Wouldn't Priest Loki have warned us if there was anything to watch out for down here? We're fine."

"You always were a bit simple, Ten."

"Keladen! Don't you trust our newest priest?"

"No."

"… isn't that sacrilege?" Vreeten smirked over at Kel as he sprawled leisurely, fully restored and fully nude. Kel just glared back at him.

"Well," said a voice further down the row as one of the bodies propped up their shroud to look themselves over. "These Asgardians certainly cut a pretty picture. I think I am going to enjoy this mission."

"Save it, Avla. We can enjoy the goods later, when Asgard is ours."

"On that note," Said Vreeten, "I think clothes should be our first mission statement."

"What a pity." Avla grumbled with a smirk.


End file.
